Late
by Svendances
Summary: One shot turned slightly longer. My version of Stephanie discovering she's late. Just a bit of dribble that was coaxed out of me by Two Guns and a Knife and her insistance that I write more... Babe with a single potentially Joe harming statement toward the end of first chapter.
1. Chapter 1

_This is for Two Guns and a Knife who, for all her pestering keeps me motivated and sometimes throws the odd idea at me. She wanted to see my version of Steph being L_ate_, so here it is._

**Late**

I smiled at the fresh, fluffy, chocolate brown towels that sat on the counter beside the sink when I entered the bathroom of the seventh floor apartment. It had been a little over eight months since Ranger and I had defined our relationship as an actual relationship and he'd asked me to move in with him. Of course I'd jumped at the opportunity. The seventh floor apartment on Haywood was far more comfortable than my own dinky little box, not to mention it came with Ranger and Ella.

Every morning, between Ranger leaving for his early gym session and seven o'clock when my alarm woke me, Ella slunk into the apartment, tidied anything that needed tidying, wiped down the counters in the kitchen and collected dishes from the previous evening's meal. She stowed special treats for me in the fridge or under the glass dome on the bench. And on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays she left clean towels. I hadn't quite worked out exactly when she changed the sheets, but they were always fresh, so I could only assume she had a monitor that she used to know when we were both out of the apartment so she could swoop in and change them once a week.

Running my hand over the towels, I glanced over the spotless, shining surfaces that comprised the bathroom, noting that she'd clearly cleaned the shower stall, since the toiletries we used had been put away. I bent to grab them from the cupboard under the sink and where I also found Ella's monthly care package. It had seemed creepy the first time the little basket of feminine hygiene products had appeared under the sink just in time for my menstruation, but I'd gotten used to it. Ranger's explanation that she liked taking care of me helped a lot to that end.

I smiled a little more at her thoughtfulness until I caught sight of the little note on top. Pulling it closer, I read it a few times, trying to understand what she'd meant.

_Stephanie,_

_Have you changed preferences?_

_Ella._

Of course I hadn't changed preferences. What would make her think that? Shrugging it off, I proceeded with my shower and got ready for the day with enough time to spare to savour a chocolate glazed donut that had been left in on the counter, still in the bakery bag. I was licking chocolate off my fingers as I pressed the button for the elevator and my cell phone rang on my hip.

"Yo?" I greeted.

"Babe, where are you?"

"On my way down," I assured him. "I told you it was going to be a four out of five week."

"We'll hold the meeting till you get here then."

I grinned as I stepped onto the elevator. "I'm not even late, Ranger," I said. "Stop teasing."

"Maybe not yet, but by the time you reach the conference room you'll be at least two minutes late."

**_One Week Later..._**

I stumbled into the bathroom, the beeping of the alarm clock still ringing in my head. I felt like crap. I was nauseas, my head was throbbing and even the small amount of light that filtered through curtains in the bedroom caused excruciating pain to radiate through my temples.

I stripped Ranger's t-shirt off and tossed it in the direction of the hamper before starting the shower. As I waited for the water to heat up, I ran a comb through my hair in an effort to ease the shampoo aftermath, but found that even that action caused great discomfort. With the water beating down at just the right temperature, I stepped under the spray, fairly melting as steady stream massaged my a long moment I just stood there, allowing the water to ease my muscles before finally reaching for the Bvlgari and loofa that was normally on the little shelf with my shampoo and conditioner.

The shelf was empty.

With a groan, I staggered back out of the shower, dripping all over the place as I grappled with the cupboard handle in an effort to reach the toiletries Ella had tucked away there while she cleaned the shower. Finally managing to reef the door open, I snatched up the bottles and lobbed them through the open shower door. My hand had just landed on the loofa when I spotted the small basket of products, a note card sticking out just a little at the front.

With somewhat of a belated moment of realisation, I pulled the whole basket out and set it on the counter before gingerly plucking the little card out so as not to get water all over it.

_Stephanie,_

_I thought maybe my calculations were off, or that you'd changed brand preferences, but I've double and triple checked my notes. There's a little something at the bottom of the basket you may need if you feel you're ready for that step._

_Ella_

_P.S. You know you can call if you need anything._

I stared at the note for a full minute, the shower gushing hot water behind me, causing steam to rise and waft around me. My knuckles were white where I gripped the edge of the counter, somehow managing to keep myself upright as turmoil took over my mind. She couldn't possibly... I mean... I would know if I was...

Stealing my courage, I dug to the bottom of the basket and pulled out a box. All my efforts for staying standing were swept out from under me as my knees gave out fully. With my last bit of control over my legs, I directed myself so that I landed on the closed lid of the toilet staring at the box in my hand.

Pregnancy Test.

Was Ella right? Was my period late?

I lurched to my feet, grabbed a towel from the freshly laundered stack beside the basket on the counter and wrapped it around myself, securing it in the front with one hand as I turned the shower off with the other. Still dripping, but uncaring, I made my way to the kitchen where I'd dumped my handbag the previous evening, quickly rummaging through the contents for my planner. I flipped it open to the full year view where I could scan the markings I'd made over the last few months. Without fail there was a series of red dashes through the third week of each month.

Except last month.

I counted the weeks since my last lot of red dashes and groan once again. Seven weeks. No wonder Ella was leaving me notes. I can't believe I didn't notice. It was my body and Ella was apparently more in tune with it.

My first instinct was to call Ranger, but a glance at the clock showed that way more time had passed since I'd stumbled out of bed than I thought. It was now after nine o'clock. Damn. With trembling fingers I picked up my phone and typed a simple text.

_I'm late._

The reply came a moment later Ranger's reply buzzed through: _I know. Meeting started five minutes ago._

Yeah, okay, I guess that miscommunication is on me. Of course he would assume that's what I was referring to. I lightly banged my head against the countertop, acknowledging that it did nothing for my headache or the small amount of vertigo I was feeling, but it did give me something to do while I tried to think of how to tell him. _Should_ I even tell him? Or was it better to wait until I had confirmation as to whether I was or was not pregnant? It was like asking me if I'd like to eat my left hand or my right hand!

Before I managed to pull an explanation from my raddled brain, another text buzzed in my hand.

_Are you going to join us?_

Without thinking, I typed my response into the phone and hit send. _Be down soon._

Why? Why do I do these things to myself? I could have just said no, that I was having a bad morning and I'd be down once I'd run through the shower and was feeling more human. But no. I had to torture myself. With a sigh, I dropped the phone to the counter and made my way back to the bedroom and the wardrobe, selecting my usual black cargos but opting to pull on one of Ranger's t-shirts rather than my own. I was dressing for comfort today, and if anyone had a problem they could just shove it.

Ten minutes later, dressed and with my hair tamed into a rudimentary pony tail, I slid into the main conference room where we held the end of week meeting to a chorus of greetings from the assembled Merry Men. Lester, Bobby, Manny, Cal and Hal enthusiastically beckoned me to the table where they were all gathered, gesturing to the seat they'd reserved for me right next to Ranger. As I sank down into the chair, I sent both Ranger and Tank, who was standing at the front of the room by the projector screen, an apologetic look.

"Babe," Ranger murmured by my ear as he fingered the material of the baggy shirt I wore tucked into my cargo pants. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," I said quietly as the men settled down, refocusing on the large man with the stern expression. I tried my best to tune in to what Tank was saying as well, but Ranger's attention was almost solely focused on me.

"Your hair's damp, you have no makeup on at all, and you're wearing my shirt," he whispered as Tank droned on and on. "What's wrong?"

"Later," I said firmly, tilting my head to gesture to the men within hearing distance if they so chose to eavesdrop on the conversation. And I so did not want to have this conversation with an audience. Ranger either accepted that I wasn't going to talk right now, or his attention was stolen away by the meeting he was supposed to be running, because he said nothing more on the subject.

I breathed a sigh of relief as he drew the meeting to a close and everyone started gathering their things to leave. I, on the other hand, remained seated, waiting for the men to clear out so that I could maybe try and broach the topic of my nonexistent period for last month. The next thing I knew, however, Lester tugging me up from my chair, and attempting to lead me to the door.

"I've gotta talk to Ranger," I protested, pulling back on the hand he held tightly in his.

"You can talk to him later," Lester assured me over his shoulder, sending a pointed look in the direction of the man in question where he was engaged in conversation with Tank. His attention was on Tank, but his eyes were following me as I was dragged to the door.

"It's important, Les," I insisted, attempting to wrench my hand from his grasp. When that didn't work I met Ranger's gaze and tried to telegraph my apology to him across the room, letting him know that we'd talk as soon as Lester was done with me.

"We need your opinion on a case," Lester informed me, dragging me down the hall to the comm. room and into his cubicle. There he rooted through the files strewn across his desk and handed me one. "Have a read and tell me what you think. You can use my visitor's chair if you like."

With a sigh and an eye roll, I plopped down on his spare chair and commenced reading through the rather thick file while he fiddled with his computer and organised the other files into some semblance of an order. At one stage he left for a few minutes, returning with two cups of coffee from the break room and a plate of fresh cut fruit for us to share. I was nibbling on an apple while I looked over the last few pages in the folder, the morning's discovering completely driven from my mind for the time being, when my phone buzzed on my hip.

The readout showed Ranger's number causing everything to come flooding back to me.

"I'm in Lester's cubicle," I informed him, trying to sound helpful through the lump that had suddenly formed in my throat. "He needed an opinion on a case."

"Come up to seven, we need to talk," he replied, promptly hanging up in my ear.

Dread filled my stomach as I slowly rose from my chair and made my apologies to Lester, promising to come back and give him my view on the case as soon as I could. The elevator ride up to the seventh floor was intolerably slow, given my apprehensive state, but I eventually made it to the apartment to find Ranger pacing the living room.

"Ranger?" I said tentatively from the doorway.

His head snapped up immediately and his pacing halted as he locked eyes with me. "I came up to grab a file I'd forgotten," he explained in a voice so calm and quiet that I had to strain a little to hear him over the pounding of my heart. "While I was up here I went into the bathroom." Ranger took a deep breath and seemed to fight to keep his calm. "It was in complete disarray, which I'm not unused to, but on the counter next to you basket of girly thing was a... There's a..." he paused, swallowing hard. "You weren't referring to the meeting this morning, were you?" he questioned rather than try once more to name the thing he'd found in the bathroom.

"No," I said simply, unsure of what else I _could_ say at this point. I had wanted to talk to him about it, but now I was at a loss for words.

"How late?" he asked, taking a step toward me, closing the gaping chasm of space that separated us.

"Three weeks."

"Have you..."

"No," I said, guessing at the rest of his question. "I only realised this morning. Ella figured it out before I did. She put the test in the bottom of the basket."

"How could Ella have known before you?" Ranger asked sounding incredulous.

I had to shrug as he came to a stop directly in front of me. "She must keep track of my cycle. How else would she know when to stock the cupboard with my supplies?"

"I thought they were just always in there," he said mildly. "Or that you put the basket together yourself."

I scoffed at that. "I don't do the pretty basket stuff, Ranger," I pointed out. "You should know that by now."

"You're right," he agreed. "I don't know what came over me. I guess the test box knocked me for six."

"Are you mad?" I found myself asking the toe of his boot, unable to meet his gaze for fear of what I might find there.

"Babe," he said, reaching out and pulling me into his embrace. "What would I be mad? Your period is late. You let me know as soon as you realised. I was just a little shocked. I wasn't expecting the box."

I pressed my cheek against his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist and breathing in his scent for strength and comfort. "What if I'm...?" I started.

"Then we'll deal with it," Ranger cut me off swiftly.

"_Deal_ with it?" I questioned sharply, pulling my head back to stare up at him aghast. I couldn't believe he'd even suggested that! I thought he was pro-

"Relax, Babe," he said quickly. "I meant we'd find a way to handle whatever came our way. If that means a baby then so be it."

"Really?"

"Really," he said. "These things happen. I'm just glad it happened with me and not the cop. I wouldn't be held responsible for my actions if I found out you were carrying his child."

A startled laugh escaped my lips, though the show of mirth was at odds with the apprehension still curling in my belly. My hand slid down to rest on my flat stomach at that thought, wondering if it was possible something else entirely was curling in there. When Ranger's hand joined mine, twining our fingers together, my gaze shot up to meet his.

He leaned his head down, his lips a hair's width from my own when he spoke again. "If there's a life growing in there," he began, looking directly through my eyes to my soul. "We will take care of it. Together. I promise." And before I could so much as contemplate what he was promising me, our lips met and I was lost to the world. All that existed was Ranger's lips on mine as he slowly swept is tongue into my mouth. All of a sudden the world didn't seem so scary anymore.

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_Don't forget to let me know what you think in a review._


	2. Chapter 2

**_Due to an overwhelming response to the first post of this story which showed approximately 30% of reviewers requesting a continuation, I have decided to bow to peer pressure and write more. At this stage it looks as though it will be three or four chapters long. Just enough to bring us to a more well rounded end. I hope you appreciate it._**

When the kiss ended we stayed in a close embrace for several long minutes. His arms were wrapped tightly around my waist, hands splayed flat against my back allowing the warmth they radiated to seep into my muscles comfortingly. My chin rested on his shoulder as I stared in the direction of the bedroom. It was almost as if the pregnancy test was mocking me from out of sight. I tried to put it out of my mind for just a little while, but it was nearly impossible. As Ranger lifted one hand to delve his fingers into the curls that had, at some point, been loosed from its confines I buried my face into his chest, breathing deeply of his familiar scent.

"What do we do now?" I murmured into his shirt, my eyes squeezed shut as an inadequate form of defence against the world pressing in on me.

"What do you _want_ to do, Babe?" Ranger replied. His fingers began to massage my scalp soothingly and all I could think to do was melt against him just that little bit more.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I don't have all that much experience with this kind of situation."

"We can proceed however you want to," he assured me gently, never pausing in his ministrations as he moved from my scalp to my neck and shoulders. I shrugged against him, plagued by an overwhelming case of uncertainties. Ranger tightened his grip on my waist and pressed a kiss to the side of my face that was left exposed to him where he'd brushed my hair aside.

"I think I need some time to think," I finally admitted, pulling back to meet his gaze. "Alone."

He nodded slightly in understanding, his big hands rubbing up and down my arms briefly before he pressed another kiss to the top of my head and stepped back so that we were just holding hands. "I'll be around the building most of the day," he informed me. "Take as much time as you need." With a squeeze of my hands he picked up the files he'd dropped on the side table and exited the apartment, leaving me standing in the middle of the living room by myself. I immediately regretted the decision, feeling bereft of his touch, his warm reassurance, but at the same time it felt necessary.

A full minute passed as I stood there lightly bouncing on the balls of my feet in an attempt to psych myself up to enter the bathroom and face the reality of the situation anew. It needed to be done. I couldn't just fumble through this without the proper information. More than just my life would be affected by the results of that little pee test sitting on the counter... staring at me with its accusing box... I was frozen in the doorway between the bathroom and the bedroom, unable to go any closer. It was like there was a force field between me and the dreaded box.

Shaking my head, I turned on my heels and strode purposefully to the kitchen where I used one of the many expensive glass tumblers to pour myself a drink of water from the jug in the fridge. I guzzled it down in one long gulp and marched straight back to the bathroom, lifting the box from the counter before I had time to hesitate and turning it over to read the instructions on the back.

There was a spiel about how the test worked chemically, but I skipped over it in favour of getting straight to the nitty gritty parts. The blow by blow, as it were.

_Test Procedure:_

_1). To begin testing, open the sealed pouch by tearing along the notch. Remove test from the pouch. Note: First morning urine usually contains the highest concentration of hCG and is therefore the best sample when performing the urine test._

Right, that settled it then. I placed the box back in the little basket and tucked it under the counter where I'd found it earlier in the morning. I shut the cupboard doors, effectively closing my mind off to the matter until further notice at the same time. Turning from the counter, I tidied the disarray I'd left in the bottom of the showers this morning, returning each bottle to its rightful place on the shelf.

After showering – for real this time – I dressed back in the cargos, but opted for the purple v-neck tee Ella had embroidered with the company name for me. I took the time to Dutch braid the front section of my hair from ear to ear allowing the rest to do its natural thing, with a little bit of wax for taming power before I swept on my basic make up and made my way out the door.

As I stepped onto the elevator I gave myself a nice pep talk. _Everything is normal. Don't act any different to how you usually do or the guys will suspect something is up. Smile. Be pleasant. Distract yourself with work._ I nodded as I repeated it all in my head moments before the doors opened on the fifth floor and I was forced to step out or look like an idiot.

The guys on monitors looked up and waved as I passed on my way to my cubicle, so I waved back with a smile I hoped didn't look too strained. Several men called greetings to me as I walked by their workstations and I kept up all normal appearances by greeting them back and asking about their weekend plans. I'd just reached my little nook when Lester's head popped up from behind a divider a few stalls down. He grinned when he caught sight of me.

"I thought I heard your voice, Beautiful," he said, moving out into the open. "Got time to give me your opinion on that case now?" A twinkle in his eyes caused me to wait for more of his comment before responding. "If you can still think that is," he added suggestively.

"Of course I can still think," I said with an eye roll, following him toward his workspace. "Why wouldn't I be able to think?"

"Oh, you know," Lester shrugged. "Midday meetings with the boss up in the apartment. You're looking much better than this morning, by the way."

I narrowed my eyes at him in warning. "Can it Santos," I said. "Or you can kiss my help goodbye."

"Right," he said quickly, ruffling through the files strewn once again in a higgledy-piggledy fashion across his desk until he found the appropriate folder, handing it to me and retrieving a legal pad and pen from his top drawer. I outlined my thoughts on the case, giving some suggestions of how I would proceed with it and was just handing him back the file when Ranger stuck his head inside the cubicle doorway.

"Santos," he greeted shortly before turning his attention to me with a single raised eyebrow. "Babe. How did your inquiry go upstairs?"

"I have to call back in the morning," I replied, giving him the information he was after while keeping up the pretence he had set. He nodded his understanding and was gone as quickly as he'd appeared, leaving me feeling ever so slightly deflated.

"What are you inquiring into?" Santos asked, crossing his ankles and arms as he leaned back in his chair. He gazed at me with that smug little smirk he sometimes got when he thought he was onto something, so I simply shrugged and left his little box, heading for my own. Thankfully, he left it at that allowing me to spend the rest of the afternoon focusing all my energy on working through the pile of search requests in my inbox.

The pregnancy test didn't even pop into my mind. Not once. Okay, so maybe it crept in a couple of times when I was waiting for a search page to load. But that was it. I swear. I was firmly in the land of denial the rest of the time. It didn't exist. At all.

At five o'clock I was shutting down my computer when Ranger appeared in my doorway, a shoulder leaned against the partition. In one hand he held the keys to the Porsche, in the other, my handbag. "Ready to go, Babe?" he asked, holding the bag out to me when I stood to face him.

"Go where I?" I replied, hoisting the purse onto my shoulder and following him to the elevator.

"Dinner."

"No where too fancy, I assume," I commented with a gesture to our attire. We were both still dressed in the Rangeman uniform, complete with combat boots and cargo pants. No way in hell was any respectable restaurant going to admit us. Even if we bribed them.

"Just Pino's, Babe," he assured me, placing a kiss on my neck just below my ear. "But I thought you might like to get out of the building for a while."

*0*

We were seated in our usual booth at the back of the restaurant area, side by side with our backs to the wall. Ranger's arm was across the top of the seat behind me, his thumb rubbing light circles on my shoulder through the thin fabric of my shirt. His other hand had a hold of my own as he fiddled with my fingers in his lap. We'd ordered a pizza with the works to share, half with extra cheese, and were now waiting silently, occasionally sipping from the waters we'd been provided.

Ranger seemed to be scanning the restaurant the way he always did, ensuring there were no threats present. I, on the other hand, couldn't help my gaze wandering between a few specific tables on the other side of the room. Each contained a couple, man and woman. And under normal circumstances I wouldn't have given them anymore attention than to note that they were note acting suspiciously. What drew my attention this evening, however, was that each couple had with them one or two small children.

The nearest family contained two blonde little girls in matching party frocks and frilly white socks. The older of the two had her locks caught up in a high ponytail, secured with a pink ribbon, while the younger's hair bounced by her ears from two adorable little bundles on either side of her head. On one side of the booth Mom sat with the younger girl, holding her hand to prevent her from losing her balance as she bounced excitedly on the cushion while across the table her older sister knelt beside her father, wiggling with glee as the waitress placed a family sized pizza in the middle of the table. The little one immediately reached for the steaming food but was caught under the arms by the woman and plopped down on the seat on her bottom. Dad lifted two piece from the tray and placed them on plates in front of the girls before picking up a piece of his own and stuffing it in his mouth as his wife broke up the younger girl's piece for it to cool quicker.

Two tables over a little boy, no more than two years of age, clad in a Mickey Mouse t-shirt that had been enhanced by tomato ketchup at some point before I took notice of him, merrily stuffed fries into his mouth with one hand as he brandished a pizza crust with the other. As I watched, he sneezed and snot bubble erupted from his nose. I gagged as he giggled and his mother grabbed a serviette from the table to remove the booger from his face.

Ranger chuckled beside me, drawing my attention back to him.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Your reaction," he said. "You can roll through garbage but you can't handle a little toddler snot?"

"He let it sit there as he stuffed another fry in," I pointed out defensively.

"He's a baby, he doesn't know any better." When I simply shuddered, he assured me. "You get used to it."

"Oh, I don't doubt that," I told him. "Val once turned up to dinner with dried porridge in her hair."

The waitress appeared by our table at that moment, setting down the pizza and nodding her understanding when Ranger requested a jug of iced tea and two fresh glasses. For several minutes we were silent, eating and people watching, until the couple with the toddler got to their feet, preparing to leave. The boy was fast asleep against his mother's shoulder as the father retrieved a backpack from the floor by highchair and lead his wife to the door, holding it open for the woman to carry the boy out ahead of him.

"We could do that," Ranger said when the door had closed behind them, squeezing my hand. I turned a stunned gaze his way to find his eyes crinkled slightly at the corners like he was thinking about smiling. "If we had to of course."

"Right," I agreed, stuffing another bite of pizza into my mouth before adding in a muffled voice, "You'd be the snot rag, though."

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_Please keep up the fantastic reviewing and I'll be back with more as soon as I can._


	3. Chapter 3

_**Once again, thank you for the horrendous amount of feedback you've all sent me regarding the story. I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much.**_

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When we went to bed that night, Ranger ensured that I was snuggled tightly against him, one arm wrapped around my middle in a loving, vice-like grip, keeping my back pulled firmly against his front. I tilted my head back to rest on Ranger's other arm where it stretched out and tried to clear my mind of the thoughts and possibilities that twirled through my brain. For the first time in weeks we didn't dally around before sleep, just snuggled and lay there. And lay there. And lay there.

"Babe?" Ranger whispered into the darkness some time later.

"I thought you were asleep," I mumbled, turning my head a little in a futile attempt to see him.

"I can't sleep knowing you're awake," he informed me. "It worries me."

A small smile crept across my face at his words, and I couldn't help but tease him. "Don't wanna wake up with a Sharpie moustache?"

"You could never get a moustache on me without waking me, Babe," he stated firmly. And I knew he was right. His body was highly attuned to his surroundings. The slightest change in air pressure, the faintest noise that shouldn't be there, an unexpected jostle, and he was awake instantly. From a security standpoint, it was an excellent trait, but from a girlfriend wanting to give him a surprise wake-up call point of view, it wasn't as desirable. The moment I so much as shift against him in the morning he would pull me under him and take charge.

Now, he moved his hand up my stomach, underneath the oversized t-shirt I'd commandeered from his draw months ago and caressed my right breast. "You need to relax and get some sleep," he murmured into my hair.

"I can't relax, Ranger," I said. "My mind is going a million miles a minute."

For the life of me, I cannot figure out what he did or said to ease my mind, but the next thing I knew it was seven in the morning and my alarm was blaring in my ear. With a groan I rolled all the way from the middle of the bed where I'd obviously been wrapped in Ranger's arms until a couple of hours previous, to my side of the bed where I whacked the alarm clock unconscious and stumbled to my feet.

I was pretty sure my eyes weren't actually open, having been through my morning routine here enough times that I no longer needed the gift of sight to muddle through it, so when I was met with hard resistance where there was normally an open doorway leading to the bathroom, I was more than a little startled. My eyes shot open on a yelp as I took a couple of quick steps backwards, losing my balance in the process. I'd have fallen on my rear if it weren't for Ranger's hands grabbing my upper arms as he followed my backwards progress.

"Babe," he said, sounding just a little amused.

"Don't scare me like that!" I cried, my hand pressed to my chest in an attempt to calm my racing heart. It was a rare occasion that Ranger was actually in the apartment when I awoke in the morning. Sometimes he'd watch me sleep on weekends, but usually he was still finishing up his morning gym session when I managed to prise myself from the bed. It worked well, I got to pee and go through my shower without having to worry if I was holding him up, and he got to... whatever the hell he did before sunrises.

"You were about to go urinate, weren't you?" Ranger said, sounding slightly accusatory, which was enough to confuse me into a furrowed brow expression as I stared up at him. When I made no verbal response he reminded me, "Last night you explained that the most accurate result for the pregnancy test came from first morning urination."

Damn. I'd forgotten about that.

Unbidden a small sigh left my lips and I briefly leant my forehead against Ranger's chest as he adjusted his hold on me so that his left hand was now on my hip instead of my arm. The right lifted my face to his with a crooked finger under my chin before brushing my matted curls out of my eyes. He pressed his lips to mine, somehow managing to breathe strength and confidence into me with that one contact before releasing me and giving me a gentle push toward the bathroom.

Once I had the door closed behind me I bent at the sink and splashed cool water on my face from the tap. Finally sinking into a squat, I retrieved the pregnancy test box from the little basket Ella had left and set it on the counter once more. I took a deep breath and started reading the instructions once more.

_Test Procedure:_

_1. To begin testing, open the sealed pouch by tearing along the notch. Remove the test from the pouch. Note: First morning urine usually contains the highest concentration of hCG and is therefore the best sample when performing the urine test. However, randomly collected urine specimens may be used._

Best if I do this step by step so I don't screw it up, I thought. Tearing open the top of the box and removing the little foil packet. It took another deep breath to work up the courage to rip it open and pull out the little strip from inside. With the strip in one hand, I picked up the box again and continued reading.

_2. Holding the strip vertically, carefully dip it into the specimen (you may collect your urine in a clean, dry container)._

Container. Right. Better get that.

I opened the door to find Ranger slouched against the wall beside the door. He pushed off to stand up straight the moment I stuck my head out, an eyebrow raised in question. "Babe?" he asked.

"It says I need to '_collect a sample'_ ," I air quoted, unable to meet his eyes directly. "In a _'clean, dry container'_."

He said nothing. Instead, merely nodding and disappearing from the room, leaving me to wait awkwardly in the doorway to the bathroom, crossing my legs ever so slightly as the need to pee became just a little more insistent. I wasn't used to denying natures call first thing in the morning. Listening close, I heard Ranger's soft but sure footsteps pad into the kitchen, a cupboard door open and close and his footsteps made the return journey. When he appeared in the bedroom doorway I found myself staring at his bare feet. Had he been shoe-less the entire time? It seemed a bizarre circumstance. I travelled my gaze up the rest of his body, only now realising that he was in a pair of black basketball shorts and a Rangeman tee.

"Did you go to the gym this morning?" I asked, unable to stop the question from spilling from my lips.

"No," he said simply, holding out the 'container' he'd apparently just retrieved from the kitchen.

I eyed it for a long moment, hoping he would understand my hesitation without me having to say anything. In his large, caramel mocha shaded hand was one of the whisky glasses from his rather extensive collection of matching Bohemian Crystal glassware. It was expensive. I knew this because I'd Googled them when I'd first moved in so I knew how much I'd be out if I accidentally broke one and needed to replace it before he noticed. A lot of pretty pennies went into purchasing such glittering glasses.

"Uh, really?" I asked him when he just continued to hold the glass toward me.

"Would you prefer I called Ella to bring up a container?" he asked. "Or I could ask Bobby for a specimen cup."

I baulked at the very suggestion of involving Bobby in this. Chances are he wouldn't provide the cup without first asking why we would need such a thing in the seventh floor apartment. And knowing Bobby, he wouldn't rest until we told him exactly what we were up to. I felt like too many people already knew. Me, Ranger, Ella. Adding Bobby to that mix just felt like overkill. On the other hand I didn't want to bother Ella just for something to pee in. It seemed like an impossible situation and in the meantime, my bladder was continuing to protest.

I met Ranger's eyes. "I don't want to involve anyone else at the moment," I said firmly.

He shifted the glass in his hands so that he held it from beneath with just his finger tips. I hesitated again. I still didn't want to pee in his expensive glass. It felt wrong. "I don't keep containers in the apartment, Babe," he all by sighed.

"I can't pee in that, Ranger," I said, biting my lip. "We drink from that."

A small shrug of his shoulders was his only reply.

"It's gross!" I exclaimed.

"So we'll sterilise it after," he suggested calmly. He didn't seem affected by the thought of me urinating in the glass he drank scotch from at New Years at all. As I recalled this, picturing the scotch in the glass and the similarity of its hue to the colour of urine, I had to stifle a gag.

"I'll still know I peed in it," I pointed out. "And every time you drink scotch from it, that is what will be running through my head."

A short bark of laughter shot from his throat. He thought this was funny. I'd have slapped him on the chest or punch him if I didn't know it would end up breaking my hand. Also, I was very conscious that he was barely gripping the glass and I still didn't want to cause its demise. Instead, I settled for grumbling under my breath. "It's not funny."

"Babe," he said, sounding much calmer and in control. "There are five more glasses exactly the same as this one in the cupboard. There's only a seventeen percent chance that I would choose this exact glass."

"I don't like those odds," I told him. "And what happens when you have the guys up for drinks?"

"Only three of the men would ever be allowed into the apartment," he pointed out. By this point he had dropped the hand holding the glass to his side. The only outward sign that he was getting exasperated with the conversation. He was still entirely calm, which is more than what I could say for myself. I was getting rather stressed over this glass situation and it wasn't helped by the pressure in my bladder.

"But the chance of getting the pee cup increases with each one that is taken away."

"Babe," Ranger said. "If you're that worried about it we'll throw the glass out when you're done."

My mouth fell open. "You can't throw it out!" I exclaimed. "It's part of a set."

"I'll buy a new set," he shrugged.

"Ranger, do you know how expensive that set of glassware is?"

He raised an eyebrow in what might have been his version of a dubious expression, but all he said was, "Babe." I took that to mean the price didn't matter, what mattered was giving me peace of mind. But I still wasn't satisfied.

"What about the old set?" I asked, propping my hands on my hips to support my challenging tone.

"We'll give it to Good Will," he responded easily.

"Minus the pee glass?" I prompted.

"Minus the pee glass," he agreed, stepping forward and turning me back into the bathroom. "Now can we get this show on the road? I'd hate to see you waste your first morning urination by wetting yourself just because the thought of drinking from a cup that at one time held urine but had since been properly sterilized was squicked you out."

My mouth hung open, shocked by both the sheer number of words that had just come out of his mouth in succession and the fact that he'd used the word 'squicked'. "Is that even a real word?" I found myself asking as he set the glass on the counter beside the test box.

"It's the opposite of a kink," he explained.

I expected him to turn on his heels and make his way from the bathroom to give me some privacy. No such luck. He just stood there; his hip leaned against the counter, arms crossed over his chest. Was he expecting to watch me?

"Uh, Ranger?" I said hesitantly.

"Babe?"

"You need to leave."

His brow rose once more, taking with it the corner of his lips as he kinda smiled. "Shy?"

"I'm about to attempt to pee into a cup," I pointed out, gesturing to the glass. "I've never tried to aim my stream before, so chances are this isn't going to be pretty.

"Why would you try to aim your stream?" he asked. "Just move the cup to-."

"Okay!" I announced, placing my hands flat on his chest and giving him a modest shove toward the door. "That's enough from you. I'll work it out myself."

I took a moment to bang my head lightly against the back of the door after closing it behind him before turning back to the assembled paraphernalia. I snatched the box off the counter yet again, reading quickly through the remainder of the instructions.

_Immerse the strip into the urine sample with the arrow end pointing towards the urine. Do not immerse past the MAX Line (Marker Line). Take the strip out after 3 seconds and lay the strip flat on a clean, dry, non-absorbent surface. (Note: In rare instances when dye does not enter the result area, dip the tip of the test strip in the urine as instructed above until the dye begins travelling across the white result area)._

_3. Wait for coloured bands to appear. Depending on the concentration of hCG in the test specimen, positive results may be observed in as little as 40 seconds. However, to confirm negative results, the complete reaction time of 5 minutes is required. It is important that the background is clear before the result is read. Do not read results after the specified reaction time._

I made short work of it. Relieved to finally be able to answer natures morning call. I peed, dipped and waited the first forty seconds out by staring at the little strip on the counter top. The box said a positive result would show two strips of colour on the white part and could be seen pretty early. At the end of the first minute there was still only one line, but I didn't want to get my hopes up too far just yet. I still had four minutes left. No way was I going to stare at the strip for four more minutes.

Ranger was back to leaning against the wall when I exited the bathroom and closed the door behind myself. He raised an eyebrow but made no move to straighten from the wall.

I pressed my shoulders to the section of wall beside him, mimicking his posture. "Set the timer on your phone for four minutes," I sighed.

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_Please remember to send in your fabulous reviews. I love reading them._


	4. Chapter 4

_**Thanks as always for all the tremendous (and yes, I probably meant tremendous last chapter, rather than horrendous... it was hot, my canteen had sprung a leak, and I was thirsty, so sue me) reviews. I hope you keep it up in response to this chapter.**_

The next four minutes were the longest of any I'd ever had to endure in my entire life. It was longer than the five minutes I had to wait before my grandparents arrived on Christmas morning so we could open our presents when I was six. It was longer than the commercial break before they revealed who the killer was in a murder mystery – not that I watched those very often; my life was enough of a murder mystery most of the time. It was even longer than five minutes spent in bumper to bumper traffic on the highway as it inched along at five metres per hour.

Possibilities were tumbling through my mind as the speed of light, which wasn't helping the time pass as all. I kept picturing the test and the results it could show, and then I play out a scenario for Ranger reaction. Or my own reaction. Already, I'd skimmed over millions of scenes and still the alarm had not sounded. At least, not the one on Ranger's phone. The alarm bells in my head were ringing like it the fire bell at school; loud and constant.

If it was negative, I'd be relieved. And so would Ranger. Wouldn't he? But what if he wasn't? What if he was disappointed? What if he desperately wanted a baby with me and it turned out that I wasn't pregnant and that I _couldn't_ get pregnant? I tried to brush that line of thought away as ridiculous. Ranger would have told me if he desperately wanted a baby. He may be secretive, but he wouldn't harbour those kinds of desire. And he knew how I felt on the matter.

But what if that was the reason he didn't tell me? He knew I'd say no if he asked about it so he just started poking holes in his condoms and hoping for the best.

I shook my head firmly. That's absurd. Ranger's made it abundantly clear that his life doesn't lend itself to a family situation. Hell, barely even lends itself to our _relationship_. The only reason we're still together is because I have just as dysfunctional a life as he does. The difference being that rather than disappearing into the wind for months on end like he did, I had to put up with extended periods of crazy-assed stalkers, car explosions and shoot outs. And heaven forbid if his in-the-wind periods ever lined up perfectly with my everyone's-trying-to-kill-me periods.

_Don't think about periods. Their current lacking in showing up was the reason we were in this situation._

I glanced over at the clock on the bedside table, only to find out that that entire thought process had taken no more than twenty seconds. That still left three minutes and forty seconds of waiting for a little blue line to either appear or not appear on a thin strip of urine soaked paper. If it didn't appear, I could resume my life as pretty much normal and pretend this never happened. If it _did_ appear... well, let's just say I was going to hell. My mother would disown me for the hard evidence that I had been living in sin – not that she didn't already assume that Ranger and I were being sinful, I mean, what else did a woman and a very sexy man do in the bed they shared? Sleep? Not likely.

How would Ranger react if the test was positive? He said he'd support me no matter what. That we'd work through whatever came our way together. But what if that was just talk? He'd been through this kind of thing before. What if he'd said those exact words to Rachel when she told him she was pregnant?

This waiting thing was absolute agony. Every second felt like an hour. It may as well be days before I found out if I was growing something inside me. I glanced at the clock again. Thirty seconds had passed. I cut my eyes to Ranger where he still leaned against the wall right beside me, his shoulder touching mine. His breaths were even and he stared straight ahead like he didn't have a distressing thought in his head. Lucky bastard.

At this rate I was likely to pull my hair out before we even reached two minutes. My eyes were constantly drawn by the little changing numbers on the clock display, hoping that perhaps a minute had passed while I'd sighed and rolled my eyes. But alas, it had been a mere second. I could only imagine how I'd deal with the hours – maybe even days – of labour if I did turn out to be pregnant.

_Oh God._ I hadn't even considered that. If I was pregnant, I'd have to give birth. That meant pain, upon pain, on top of more pain. And all before you even got to the part where you push the kid out. I'd seen it in movies and on TV; hell, I'd even been present for one of my sister's births, and the verdict was there was a lot of screaming and panting and red-facededness. And if it elicited that much commotion, chances were it was an excruciating experience. I definitely was not ready for that.

"Babe?" All of a sudden Ranger was in front of me, his hands on my shoulders as he stared directly into my face. His edges were a little blurry and I was starting to get a woozy feeling in my stomach as I tried to bring him into focus. "You just went white as a sheet," he informed me, worry lines creasing his forehead. I don't think I've ever seen Ranger so worried in all the time I've known him, and considering the amount of times I'd worried everyone else in my life, I figured this had him really concerned.

"I can't do it, Ranger," I stated firmly, shaking my head from side to side briefly until I realised that the action only intensified the feelings battling out in my stomach. Nausea, vertigo and a hint of gonna-crap-my-pants-I'm-so-scared. "I don't respond well to pain."

"No one's going to hurt you, Babe," he said soothingly, bringing one hand up to caress my cheek.

I pointed to my flat stomach. "That is!" I exclaimed shrilly. "It's going to grow, and expand and make me _fat_. And then it's going to kick me and punch me _from the inside_. And I haven't even gotten to the worst part yet! Cramps. More cramps. Vice like pain encompassing my entire stomach. AND THEN!"

"Babe," Ranger said, bringing his other hand up to my face and tugging gently in order to get me to meet his eyes again. "Just calm down. We don't even know for sure if you're pregnant or not."

But it was too late. I was too far gone in my hysteria. "THEN," I continued. "THEN I have to push out a BABY! From my _lady parts. _ You remember how nice and tight it feels when you're inside me? Well, guess what! As endowed as you are, your girth is _NOTHING_ compared to the size of a baby! It's going to stretch and burn and maybe even..." Bile rose in my throat as I contemplated the next thought that popped into my head. "Maybe even..."

I never got to finish my sentence as the entire world went black. I felt like I was falling, slipping through the rabbit hole just like Alice. And then bliss. A nothingness encased me in its soothing caress. Lapping gently at the edges of my subconscious. I'm not sure how long I allowed myself to float there, free from all the worries of the world, but before I know it I became aware of hands on me. Large, calloused hands that I knew very well.

My eyes fluttered open and I was met with two, very concerned-looking, dark eyes staring straight back down at me. Some strands of soft brown hair had escaped his habitual pony tail and were hanging around his face, making him look even sexier than he usually did. His hands were on my shoulders, his thumbs rubbing little circles on my collar bone.

"Ranger," I breathed, acknowledging a dull throbbing in my temples. It was a headache throb, not a I-fell-down-and-hit-my-head throb, which meant that Ranger had probably caught me before I hit the ground. I shifted a little, intending to sit up, but his hands kept me firmly in place.

"Give it some time, Babe," he said, brushing a lock of hair out of my face. "I don't want you to tire yourself out and pass out again."

I sighed, accepted my lot and relaxed against the pillows for a moment until everything came crashing back to me like an avalanche. Despite Ranger's firm pressure, I managed to sit bolt upright and would have gotten my legs over the side of the bed had he not been sitting by my hip.

"Babe, calm down," he said, once again, easing me onto my back.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"A few minutes," he said. "If lasted too much longer I was going to call Bobby." He paused a moment and turned my head side to side to examine me. "You're still pale. Maybe I should call him anyway."

"Noooo!" I cried. "He can look at me later if you're still worried. We need to check the test results."

Ranger met my eyes for a long moment before squeezing my thigh firmly. "You stay here. I'll go check it." He disappeared from view in the next second and I had half a mind to follow him anyway, but the dizziness that plagued me when I turned my head to stare at the now open bathroom door gave me pause. Probably, I'd only just make it there and Ranger would carry me all the way back without so much as glancing at the little paper strip. It was best if I just followed his orders this one time.

But boy was he taking his sweet time in there. I didn't want to wait another second. I already knew what turmoil coursed through my brain when I was left with my own thoughts for too long. I freaked out and fainted. No way was I going to go through that again. Unless... No. Don't think about it.

"What's taking so long?" I called, pulling myself into a semi seated position with my back against the pillows on the headboard. "Is it positive or negative?" A few moments of silence passed and I got a little worried. "Ranger?"

He stuck his head out of the doorway, his brow slightly creased as he gazed across the space at me. "Babe?"

"What is it? Positive or negative?"

"I don't know," he replied, making me blink a few times in disbelief. How could he not know? Was he blind? "I'm reading the instructions to figure it out," he explained, holding up the box he held.

I rolled my eyes. "How many lines are there on the strip?"

"One."

The air whooshed out of me in one big gust as relief washed over me. "It's negative," I told him, feeling a smile spread across my lips. "I'm not pregnant." Ranger shot me a smile of his own and turned to throw the box back into the bathroom before making his way back to the bed. He sank down on the edge of the bed once more, and took my hands in his, rubbing the backs of my hands with his thumbs. "Thank God," I breathed, leaning my head back against the headboard and closing my eyes. "I'm not ready to go through that yet. I can't imagine how freaked out I would be right now if that test showed positive."

"We'd have made it through," Ranger assured me, never ceasing his massage. "But I'm relieved as well," he added.

"You don't want kids. I know."

"On the contrary," he said. "I'd love to have kids with you. But I want to marry you. Ideally, I'd like to marry you first. And I'd hate for you to think that the only reason I'm marrying you is because I knocked you up."

"Is that a proposal?" I asked him, feeling a little wave of nausea stir at the thought.

"Not right now, Babe," he said easily. "I don't have a ring right now. But in the future, when the time is right for both of us we'll do it. Agreed?"

"Agreed." And as he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine in a sensual, reassuring kiss, a sickening thought ran through my mind, prompting me to pull back before he was done sucking my tongue into his mouth. "Ranger," I murmured as he gazed down at me with renewed concern. "My period is still three weeks late," I pointed out. "If I'm not pregnant, what the hell is wrong with me?"

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_I HAD planned on skipping the freak out and letting you know the results much earlier in the chapter, but Shreek convinced me that it wasn't evil enough. We all know how I love to laugh maniacally after uploading a chapter. And the way I was going to have it, I just wouldn't be able to do that, so I went with her suggestion instead. It was better._

_Also, please don't forget to review._


	5. Chapter 5

_Hi guys! This Auntie Becleigh (that's right! I'm an Auntie now!) letting you know that this is the last chapter of the story (by which I mean I may be tempted and/or persuaded to write an epilogue, but definitely not until I've eaten something because my stomach is protesting louder than Steph's that I've postponed my evening meal to finish typing this up). Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, you've all be awesome. I hope you take the time to check out my other stories too, you might just like them._

* * *

I rolled my eyes at the cars parked around me as I slipped from my own vehicle. It just figures that even in a Rangeman Fleet SUV I couldn't catch a break with the parking Gods. Adjusting my top where it had gone squiff during the drive over, I resigned myself to forever being a back row bandit and began the not-necessarily-long-but-still-annoying trudge to the entrance to Shorties.

Ranger had texted an hour ago to let me know that when I was done with what I was doing he'd be here with some of the guys if I wanted to join them. Which I did, because I was ruled by my stomach.

I was just passing yet another black SUV when a pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist from behind. A startled squeal left my lips and I clawed at the arms, trying to get free until I heard the familiar chuckles by my ear and the arms loosened, turning my to face their owner.

"You need to be more aware of your surroundings, Babe," Ranger informed me, still sounding amused.

"It's not funny!" I admonished, slapping him lightly on the chest as he tucked me closer. "I thought you were trying to kidnap me!"

Ranger's laughter died down as he met my gaze with a look that seemed to just smoulder. "Who's to say I wasn't?" he murmured, his voice gone husky and deep as he leaned down to nip at my exposed collar bone.

"Well if you're kidnapping me you better plan on hitting a drive through, because the monster inside me isn't all that polite to kidnappers who deny it sustenance."

"Alright, fine," Ranger agreed, pretending to be frustrated with me. "But before we go inside, what did the doctor say?"

I'd had my first appointment with said doctor the previous day, during which I had explained my situation and been subjected to the drawing of blood. He wanted to be sure I was, in fact, not pregnant before we got too worried. Unfortunately, unlike the urine test I'd done that morning, blood tests took a little longer than five minutes, so I'd been required to make another appointment for this morning to get and discuss the results.

"Definitely not pregnant," I began, letting the words gush out of me.

Ranger nodded, running his fingers up and down my arm, as was his habit when we were embraced like this during conversation. It made it harder for me to think, but I wasn't about to tell him to stop; I liked it too much. And besides, I think I was getting used to it. At least it no longer had me pooled at his feet in seconds. I'd built up a natural tolerance so that I could carry on as normal if I so chose, which, I have to admit, I sometimes didn't.

"Did he say what might have caused it?" Ranger asked.

"He asked if I'd been under a lot of stress lately. Or if I'd made any changes to my routine." I waited for him to tell me to go on, but he merely raised an eyebrow expectantly. "Well, I've just started that exercise regime Bobby put together for me," I pointed out. "So I told him that, and he said that changes in exercise intensity and endurance can sometimes cause a missed period. He said my cycle should sort itself out once it gets used to the new activity. He also suggested I might think about easing back a little though."

Ranger gave me a look that seemed to ask, _'Did he really?_' but chose to say nothing on the matter. "We'll talk to Bobby about modifying the regime," he assured me, pressing a kiss to my temple and adjusting his hold on me so that I was now anchored to his side, allowing us to resume progress toward the restaurant once more.

"So you're sure you're glad that I'm not pregnant?" I blurted, unsure of why I suddenly felt the need to bring that topic up again. We'd already covered it the day before.

"Of course," he replied easily, opening the door for me to enter ahead of him. The Merry Men spotted me at once and let out a raucous cheer from our regular table at the back. "I'd like to have kids with you someday, but I want you do be ready for that step first, Babe."

I chewed on my bottom lip for a moment, contemplating the return of the dreaded 'someday' time frame as we would our way through the tables to the guys. "What if we planned on starting a family in a couple of years?" I asked quietly, away that we were drawing close to the table, but feeling the need to get a more measurable time acknowledgment out of the man.

I could hear the smile in his voice when he replied, "If that's when you're ready, then that's when we'll do it. But Babe." His voice sounded strange all of a sudden and I looked around to see what was the matter, only to have all the air knocked out of my when I found him down on one knee, gazing up at me. "I think we should do this properly," he informed me, delving a hand into the cargo pocket of his pants and eliciting a collective gasp from not just the Merry Men but the restaurant as a whole.

My heart was beating so hard and fast that I was afraid it would burst from my chest at any second. My gaze locked on the small velvet covered box in his hand, even as the urge to check that Bobby was nearby in case I went into sudden cardiac arrest washed over me. Surely I was dreaming.

"Babe," Ranger said, drawing my attention from his hand to his face. "Will you marry me."

"No way," I breathed, feeling a little light headed.

"Excuse me?" Ranger asked, his eyebrows drawing together as a murmur began throughout the crowd, quickly growing to a dull, but deafening roar.

"Is this really happening?" I asked him.

"One hundred percent real, Babe," he assured me, still looking slightly concerned.

I flung my arms around his neck just in time for my knees to give out. "Yes!" I whispered by his ear. "A million times, yes."

"Thank Christ," Lester sighed from close by before announcing loudly, "She said yes, everyone."

At that moment, my cell began buzzing on my belt, and as Ranger tightened his grip around me, ensuring I didn't slip to the ground, I brought the phone to my ear, not even bothering to check the caller ID first.

"Mrs Karowitz called," my mother announced, forgoing all mandatory 'Burg pleasantries and cutting straight to the chase. I rolled my eyes, trying to think of a single thing I'd done wrong today. Maybe I'd been spotted leaving the doctor's office? "She said her daughter is at that pizza place you like and so the mercenary you've been dating propose to you. Is this true?"

I gave Ranger a quick, hard kiss on the mouth as he slipped the ring onto my left hand. "One hundred percent real," I informed my mother, borrowing Ranger's words.

"And?" she prompted impatiently.

"And what, Mom?"

"Well, what did you say?" she demanded.

"Mrs Karowitze didn't tell you?"

"Stephanie," she warned in her I-can-and-will-deprive-you-of-pineapple-upside-down-cake-if-you-don't-answer-the-question-soon voice.

"Alright, I alright," I laughed, lifting my hand to get a look at the ring weighing it down. "I said – Hold crap! Would you look at the size of that rock?!" I exclaimed, interrupting myself when my eyes landed on the massive diamond adorning the finger next to my pinkie. Wide eyes, I met Ranger gaze. "It's gotta have its own zip code," I said, garnering a soft chuckle from him and another stern uttering of my name from my mother. "Hang on, Mom," I requested. "I send you a picture."

Without hanging up, I quickly snapped of a photo of my left hand and sent it off to her cell phone. A moment later there was a muffled gasp, followed by a thud and a clatter.

"Mom?" I called, rising to my feet as concern rushed through me. "Mom, are you there?" No response. "Mom?"

A brief rustling sound met my ears, followed by my father's voice. "Your mother fainted," he informed me gruffly. "What's this I hear about Ranger proposing?" His voice was hard when he asked, causing any fleeting thoughts I may have entertained about playing coy with him as well to evaporate before they had even materialised.

"I'm engaged, Daddy," I informed him firmly, prompting yet another cheer from the men around me. "I'm going to marry Ranger."

A short bark of laughter carried down the line, sending a thrill through me as Ranger pulled down into his lap once he'd taken a seat at the table. "He's good to you," Dad informed me. "Just don't get any big ideas in your head about eloping. I wanna actually give you away to someone worthy of the gift he's being given so that he can appreciate you all the more."

"I won't Daddy," I promised, rolling my eyes. "And I'm sure Mom won't let me anyway."

"Good," he stated. "Now put me onto my future son-in-law."

I handed my cell to Ranger, who raised an eyebrow in question but took it anyway. I could only imagine my father was laying down the consequences of what would happen if, heaven forbid, Ranger were to mistreat me, because he was doing an awful lot of yes-sirring. Finally he handed the phone back, indicating that Dad wanted to talk to me again.

"Dad?" I asked, letting him know I was there.

"You have any problems with that man, you bring him straight to me, Pumpkin. I'll sort him out."

"He's not like that, Daddy," I informed him exasperatedly, trying not to roll my eyes again.

"I know," he said. "I just don't want you to get hurt again."

"Ranger would never hurt me."

"Damn straight, he won't," he replied, sounding just briefly like Grandma Mazur. When he spoke again he was less harsh. "I love you, Pumpkin. I'm glad he finally pulled his finger out and asked you to marry him."

"Dad!" I attempted to admonish, but he'd already hung up. Shaking my head, I slipped my phone back onto my belt and turned to my fiancé, who's lap I still sat upon, and pressed my lips firmly to his. Ranger immediately deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue into my mouth and the restaurant erupted in more whooping cheers.

"You're in big trouble if Dad even _thinks_ you've done something wrong," I rasped by Ranger's ear long moments later, almost completely out of breath.

"Believe me, Babe," he whispered hoarsely. "I am fully aware of the consequences of my actions."

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_Thanks again for reading and we'll see what happens with that epilogue over the next couple of days. But don't forget to review!_


	6. Epilogue

**_Epilogue: _**_15 Months Later_

I stared blankly at the computer screen, mentally willing the search program to start as I stared at it with a growing sense of frustration. The system was running slow today, but that didn't draw back the speed at which search requests appeared in my in tray. The growing pile, coupled with the dull cramps I'd been experiencing all day meant that I was _not_ in the best of moods. Probably, I was on the cusp of my Menzies. I mention this because it's just about the best defence I have for the way I was treating the guys.

I felt a presence in the doorway to my cubicle and before I could stop myself I was snapping at whoever it may have been – identity mattered very little to my emotions at that very moment. "You better hadn't be dropping off another file," I snarled. "Because at the rate we're running at the moment you won't get it back until Christmas next year."

"Uh, well, actually," Hal's voice stammered behind me, grating on still more nerves with his inability to just spit the words out. "I was coming over to ask if you had time to have a look at some of the notes I made on this file. I – I'd really like your opinion."

Rolling my eyes, I pushed back from the desk and extended my hand to him, impatiently waiting for him to hand over the folder. When finally he'd laid it in my hand, he took two steps back, eyeing me cautiously. "I'm not gonna hurt you, Hal," I informed him tersely. "The system delays are just getting on my nerves. It's not your fault."

He nodded and took a single step forward, pointing to a few notes and explaining his thoughts before waiting for me to give him my own. When we were done I handed him the folder and collapsed back into my office chair with a loud chair, clicking furiously on the _Launch_ button on the program. Nothing happened. I let out a growl and slammed the mouse against the desk, as if that would help matters.

After a full minute of staring at the swirling blue circle that indicated the computer was at least attempting to do something, I picked up the desk phone and punched in Hector's extension. Hector and I didn't really have a lot of history, what with the obvious language barrier, but I knew for a fact that he understood more English than he could speak, so at the very least I could vent a little to someone who probably had a chance at fixing the problem.

"Si?" he answered on the third ring.

"The system is slower than a wet week," I informed him. "I've been trying to load one single search program for ten minutes now and nothing is happening. If you want to keep you job I suggest you do something about it, because if I can get these searches done nobody gets any work done and we lose clients, which means there's less jobs."

"Si," he assured me. "I fix."

And he promptly hung up, leaving me to let out another irritated growl as I tossed the receiver back in its cradle. It worked, though. Five minutes later the search program was running full speed ahead and I was finally making progress on today's mountain of requests. It still felt like the men were just piling extra on me because the system wasn't working for them either, but at least I was getting somewhere.

I was just printing off my findings for the first file when Lester popped his head over the divider between our cubicles.

"Hey, Beautiful," he greeted enthusiastically. "How are things going tod-." He cut himself off abruptly when I shot him a glare. "Never mind," he said quickly, ducking back down behind the safety of the thin wall. I swear to God I heard him muttering something that sounded like a prayer as I slipped the first completed task of the day into the outbox.

One down a gazillion to go. And it was already ten thirty.

Sighing, I risked opening a second search window in the attempt to get through the cases quicker, but was sorely sorry I did so when the entire computer turned itself off. I only just stopped myself from tossing every one of those little manila foldered search requests into the air and watching them float down like giant confetti before snatching up the phone up again and dialling Hector.

"Si," he greeted once more.

"The ass just dropped out of my world," I seethed, like it was his fault. "I can't work with these conditions. What the hell is going on?"

"Delicate system updates," he informed me in heavily accented English before dissolving into rapid-fire Spanish. I grunted my displeasure but when he seemed to not notice I plonked the phone back in its cradle once more.

I'd just laid my head on the desk, intending on giving it a thorough beating with my forehead when a tingle ran down my spine, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Ranger. I moaned against the cool wooden surface supporting my face, amazed at how my husband's very presence was able to instantly calm the tension from my body. We'd been married for almost eleven months now and his soothing effect on my body without so much as touching it still surprised me.

"Babe," he said softly, placing two large, warm hands on my shoulders and rubbing firm circles on the back of my neck with his thumbs. "Rough morning?"

"Hector's system updates have significantly delayed my progress through the daily build up of search requests," I explained, blindly reaching for the computer mouse to show the lack of power the machine currently had as if it proved my point.

"It's frustrating, I know," he murmured, leaning down to press his lips to my neck just above my shirt collar. "But he has to do them."

"Can't he do them at night when it doesn't matter so much?" I whined.

"You know that no matter when he does them they're going to inconvenience someone," he pointed out. "So how about you forget about the searches for a little while."

"Ranger, they need to be done."

"I agree," he mentioned easily. "But they can't be done right now. So allow me to distract you from the futility of the task."

Rolling my eyes, I allowed him to pull me into an upright position, inadvertently letting out a small pained sound as the straightening out of my abdomen made me aware of yet another cramp. Ranger brushed a lock of hair away from my face, his brows drawn together just slightly. "Babe?" he asked.

"Just a cramp," I assured him, forcing a smile. "Probably due for my monthly visitor."

He said nothing, instead leading me to his office and closing the door behind us. While I made my way over to the couch, he crossed to his desk to retrieve an A3 piece of paper with a tonne of markings on it. He settled beside me on the leather cushions, wrapping an arm around my shoulders to pull me closer like he always did and holding the page in front of us so we could both examine it.

It was a year-to-a-page calendar. The kind I knew Ranger kept on hand for marking significant dates on when he needed.

"What am I looking at here?" I asked him, fairly melting against his side as I allowed the warmth of his body ease any lasting tension from my morning.

"Calendar, Babe," he said, with just a hint of sarcasm.

I squeezed his thigh just high enough that I knew it would do all sorts of things to him that it wasn't appropriate to deal with in his office with the men just metres away. "I get that," I sighed. "But why?"

"I need your help to find a pattern," he explained. "One of our clients has been particularly needy in the last few months and I'm trying to see if there's a link between when he made calls to our hotline and when there were security breaches on his property." He indicated respectively to the yellow and green highlighted dates when he explained what we were comparing. It seemed pretty straight forward to me. They were always grouped within a couple of days of each other. But as I continued to stare at the page beyond just the yellow and green marks, I noted other marks.

"What are these red crosses?" I asked, pointing to the line of between four and seven crosses that seemed to appear in every month so far.

"They mark your monthly cycle," he informed me promptly.

That seemed strange. I knew he knew my habits and routines by heart by now – it was hard not to when you lived in such close quarters and shared every detail with the man you loved – but to see the cold hard fact that he was tracking my cycle felt a little off to me. Especially since they were recorded on the same page as a client's calls and break ins.

"You've been keeping track?" I finally asked, brow furrowed as I reviewed the dates that had been crossed.

"A man's gotta be prepared."

At that moment my eyes landed on the past two months where there were yellow and green marks, but no red. "You forgot to mark the last couple," I pointed out, gesturing to the lack of red.

"No I didn't," he said simply.

The words jolted in my brain. "What do you mean? Did you record them somewhere else?"

"There was nothing to record."

My mouth fell open as my brain protested the information, but I found myself trying to recall my last period and failing to find one in my recent history. And if I counted correctly on the calendar before me my most recent should have been last week. And I definitely hadn't had it.

Was I...? Oh, God could I possibly be?

"I'm late?" I asked. Slightly stunned that I hadn't noticed the absence of my period for two months in a row.

"It would appear so," he said gently, dropping the page he still held onto the coffee table in front of us and pulling me a little closer.

"What do we do?"

Ranger smirked down at me, pressing a quick kiss to the corner of my mouth before saying in an amused tone, "I'll grab the scotch glass and meet you in the bathroom."

**The End... For now...**

* * *

_Thanks for reading, guys. I hope you had as much fun as I did on this journey. It's been a blast, and your reviews have been super awesome in encouraging me to keep updating, which is why the end came so fast. But never fear! I am (perhaps a little foolishly, given the projects I already have on the table) planning a sequel! *pause for applause* I can't say when it will be appearing, but keep your eyes peeled. _

_Oh! And don't forget to review!_


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